David Adelman on ‘special’ shortstop win over 76ers
On Monday night, The Denver Nuggets faced an incredibly tall task. After all five starters, they would face the Philadelphia 76ers, led by Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid. Head coach of the Nuggets David Adelman had nine available players on the court, all of whom had fewer than 50 career NBA starts combined.
That didn’t matter. The skeleton crew of the Nuggets never took their foot off the gas, eventually upsetting the 76ers in overtime, 125-124.
Adelman knew how important this victory was for the team as a whole.
“Just so many guys came in and did things for us,” Adelman said after the game. “One of the most special victories I’ve been a part of.”
When asked what he was most proud of, Adelman visibly choked up.
“The group,” he said. “I was going through with (only) nine people this morning, so it was really special.”
The win came 24 hours after Denver exhausted its resources in Brooklyn, deploying a nearly full roster in a disappointing loss. That loss resulted in a wave of absences for the Philadelphia match. Nikola Jokic and Cam Johnson were sidelined with knee injuries, while Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Christian Brown and Tim Hardaway Jr. rested for the second night of consecutive games.
No starter? No problem. Jalen Pickett erupted for 29 points while also hitting seven 3-pointers. Zeke Nnaji established a strong presence in the paint as well as from beyond the arc, dropping 21 points. But veteran Bruce Brown would make the game-winning layup with just 5.3 seconds left past Embiid’s goalie.
“This is a bunch of guys who find a way to do it with grit and effort and timely hitting,” Adelman said. “And I think that’s something that when they’re older, 20 years from now, they’ll probably have a beer and talk about this game.”
2026-01-06 12:56:00
